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Food, family and memories are as intertwined in the South as if woven on the same thread. At any function we attend, from a party to a wedding to a funeral, we are as likely to talk as much about the food that was there, as we are about why we are gathered. ~Mary Foreman

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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Slow Cooker red beans & rice made with dried beans, and cooked with a ham bone, bacon and smoked sausage.

Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice

Though it's a tradition in the Deep South, we don't have red beans and rice every single Monday of every week at my house, but, I admit that when we don't, things do seem to feel a little out of sorts for me. It's just a routine that has been part of the culture down here for all of my life really. Even as a career woman working outside of the house, red beans and rice were the special of the day, every Monday, at local restaurants we frequented for lunch.

When I make them at home, I've pretty much made my homemade red beans and rice the same way since I've been cooking them - low and slow on the top of the stove. For many of us who do work outside of the home, that's just not possible to pull off on a Monday though, so we either have to plan ahead and prepare them on Sunday night, which many of us do, or else we have to rely on our modern appliances to give us a helping hand.

Most of you know that I've never been a big fan of the crockpot for much other than pulled pork or roasts, feeling it pretty much boiled everything else to death, but with the prompts of our family of readers here, I've been trying to learn to love my slow cooker these past couple of years. Of course, you don't have to limit your consumption of red beans and rice to a Monday either. With a slow cooker, you can have them any day of the week. Here's how to make the slow cooker version of my homemade red beans and rice.

Now first, a warning. Don't you just love when you have to issue a warning with a recipe?

Eating raw kidney beans can be dangerous, so don't do that. Seems that they have some pesky compound that needs to be cooked out of them, so make sure that any kidney bean you consume is very well cooked and not even slightly undercooked. Although the accuracy of sources across the internet is debatable, for the safety of those who do not wish to take risks, who have small children or who are pregnant, always preboil the beans just to be on the safe side. Put them in a stockpot, bring to a rolling boil, boil for 10 minutes, drain, rinse and then transfer to the slow cooker.

I still like to saute all of the ingredients, rather than to just dump everything in the slow cooker raw. To me, that process takes very little prep time while making a strong contribution to the flavor, so it's worth the effort.

In a separate skillet, cook 3 slices of chopped bacon until the fat is rendered. To that, add 2 cups of chopped onion, 1 cup of chopped bell pepper, and 1/2 cup of chopped celery and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add 2 cloves of chopped garlic, black pepper to taste, 1 teaspoon of dried basil and 1 bay leaf into the vegetable mixture stir together and transfer to the slow cooker.

I purposely do not use any additional salt with my beans until the end of the cooking process, mostly because I find that there is plenty of sodium present in the added meats already, and also in my experience, sometimes it does seem to affect the cooking time on beans.

I added 7 cups of hot water and I also like to use warmed water so that the slow cooker doesn't have to take that time for heating and can get right to work!

Saute the sausage in that same skillet with a bit of olive oil or vegetable oil, until nicely browned, then transfer it to the slow cooker pot.

You can add a ham bone, a couple of ham hocks, or just some additional chopped ham to the beans for extra flavor. If you're lucky enough to have a ham bone, slide that right into your beans now.

This was an especially meaty bone, so with the addition of the smoked sausage, I didn't add any extra ham. If your bone is sparse or if you are using ham hocks, add in some chopped, cooked ham, toward the end of the cooking process.

Cover and let her go on high for 5 to 7 hours or so. My beans were nice and tender right at about 5 hours on high. When the beans are cooked through, remove 1 cup of them, but drain the liquid back into the slow cooker.

Mash the beans to form a paste and stir that back into the pot. Add a tablespoon or three of butter into the beans if you like, for a little extra richness too. Totally optional.

Taste, add salt and cayenne pepper, if desired. Serve over hot, cooked rice and garnish with sliced green onion, if desired. Pass Cajun seasoning and hot sauce at the table.

Rinse and sort beans and use a quick boil method before adding them to the slow cooker. Put them in a pot, bring to a boil, boil for 10 minutes, drain and transfer to a 6 quart slow cooker.

In a separate skillet, cook the bacon until the fat is rendered. To that, add the onion, bell pepper, and celery and sauté until the veggies are tender. Add the garlic, black pepper, basil and bay leaf into the vegetable mixture, stir together and transfer to the slow cooker. Add the oil to the skillet and saute the sausage until browned. Transfer to the slow cooker. Add the ham bone. If using ham hocks, use a knife to cut slashes into the fat before adding to the slow cooker.

Add 7 cups of heated water, cover and cook for 5 to 7 hours on high, or until beans are tender and cooked through completely. Remove 1 cup of the beans, draining the liquid back into the slow cooker. Mash beans to form a paste and stir back into the beans. Taste, add salt as needed, and cayenne pepper, to taste, if desired. Scoop over hot, cooked rice, and serve with fresh French bread. Garnish with sliced green onion, if desired, and pass Cajun seasoning and hot sauce at the table.

Cook's Notes: Do not consume raw or undercooked kidney beans. Because there are concerns with potentially undercooking kidney beans when made in a slow cooker, I recommend using the boil method of pre-soaking to rid the beans of any toxins. I also recommend cooking them on high instead of low. Taste and add salt only once beans are fully cooked, and then only if it needs it. For extra richness, add up to 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) of butter and stir in at the end. If you pre-soak your beans, you'll need to increase the water so that they cover the beans by about an inch or so.

Material Disclosure: Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

When I was young, Mom always used kidney beans (vs pintos here) in chili and I'm still a fan of them. Not being a big rice eater, this is not a dish that I would usually order or make, but while in New Orleans, I had to try it at The Rivershack tavern along with a piece of fried gator sausage and I enjoyed them both. Now that I've read your recipe I'm about ready to head for the store and buy the makings.

Hey Pam! Yep, the food down here will tend to do that to folks. Enjoy!

Hi Larry!! I don't use pintos in my chili with beans - I use red kidneys there too. They are so apart in flavor, and I guess I favor the kidney bean over the pinto, or even the smaller red beans that are sometimes used for red beans and rice. Hope that you enjoy the recipe!

I sometimes make a 3 bean chili,I use pintos,black beans,and small red beans,to me the hull on the big red beans is too tough,but Your red beans and rice this this recipe sounds very tasty,I'm going to try it when I get some time off. :)

Mary, Thanks again for another great recipe! I have a baked ham bone in the freezer that I believe will be good for this. I lived in Louisiana in the 80's and this is spot on to the recipe I got from a co-worker. I am sharing to FB so all my midwestern friends know what they are missing. Thnx. Teresa

Mary, Thanks again for another great recipe! I have a baked ham bone in the freezer that I believe will be good for this. I lived in Louisiana in the 80's and this is spot on to the recipe I got from a co-worker. I am sharing to FB so all my midwestern friends know what they are missing. Thnx. Teresa

I know that your Red Beans and Rice are awsome because I made them and posted it a year or 2 back. So I'm happy to know they turn out well in the crock pot too!I have not tried cooking beans in a slow cooker yet.I have a few slow cooker recipes bookmarked to try, but I'm with you Mary- some of them are really flavorless after they have cooked for so many hours.

I'm still trying to learn to love the slow cooker outside of roasts Lynda! I do have to say that I really love the new Emeril cooker I got for Christmas. It actually seems to cook things just right, finally!!

I do agree with that Georgia! I'm not sure if there is any scientific factor involved, but I had once heard or read about pouring off & starting with fresh water would remove some of the gas beans are known for. Enjoy your red beans and rice!

Mary, I have never made Red Beans and Rice, but you have convinced me that I have to give them a try. I love using my slow cooker for beans, so I anxious to try your recipe. My Grandkids love beans, rice and cornbread, so I will be making these very soon.

Thanks for the article and the recipe. I'm looking forward to making it this weekend. It will be nice to come home to after a very busy Saturday. I just want to confirm that the setting for the crockpot should be 'high for 5-7 hours', rather than on low? Thanks so much!

Yes, it's high - depends on your crockpot as far as timing. Mine were ready at 5 hours, but if you're gonna be gone all day low would probably work fine, though it may take at least 8 hours on low, possibly even longer. I just didn't test it on low yet! Would you let me know if you try it on low?

Thanks Mary! I will let you know how it turns out. I know that I will be gone for at least 8 hours, so I probably will try it on low. My pot has a 'keep warm' setting that would allow me to do the 5 hours and still have it be hot when I get home. But, I think low will be best for me. I've have good luck with beans that way. I never done beans & rice together though. Fingers crossed! :-) Thanks again!

You're welcome! I'm sure that the low setting will be fine, but don't cook your rice in with the beans!! The beans cook by themselves, then you serve them over cooked rice. Just wanted to make sure that was clear!!

Hi, thanks for the recipe. I have to admit, I don't cook, I had it for the first time a year ago and now I want to try it myself. I have two questions, the first one is, why do I have to mash the beans? and above the second to last picture shown it says to add a tablespoon or three to the beans ...tablespoon of what? Thanks you so much :):):)

Hi Tania! You're only removing a portion of the beans to mash them & return to the pot & that is to help thicken the bean broth & make it more creamy. They don't cream up on their own quite the same in the crockpot as they do when cooking them on the stovetop. The tablespoon or three should have read "of butter." That just adds a nice richness but it's totally optional. Seems that butter got lost somewhere in the editing process but thanks for letting me know so I could fix it! :)

Son and I had red beans N rice, with sausage for dinner tonight, and he told me that if I made it, it would be way better then the box mix!! So I found your recipe after reading several, and the specific longer steps, I know it will be really awesome! I cant wait!

I made these red beans and rice today for a family reunion...everyone was AMAZED!!!...and my husband said (and I quote) "these are THE BEST red beans and rice I have EVER had!!!" Awesome recipe!...Such bold flavor. Thanks to you I am finally learning how to cook (lol) and I'm figuring out that it seems that 'layering' is a great way to begin lol :D Thank you for your wonderful cooking knowledge!!!!!!! :D C:

I made this the other day.Soaked my beans overnight and replaced the water with fresh hot water as you suggested.I then cooked on low for about 8 hours.This was fantastic! I've made red beans a million times on the stovetop and don't think they've ever been this good.I'll be doing the slow cooker method from now on.Thanks for a great recipe!

You're welcome Laurie!! The slow cooker is really great for these isn't it? I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed them and thank you so much for taking the time to stop back by and let me know that you enjoyed the recipe!

Hi Rusty! We cook with bay leaf a lot down here in a lot of different dishes & like any other spice or herb it does contribute it's own flavor. To be honest, I've never not had any so I'm not sure, but you should still have a pretty good pot of beans with out it.

Hi Mary! Great Blog and post. My family hails from Shuqualak and it reminds me of my many aunts and grandmother.

You are the first to mention how sick you can become when using dried beans. It's not only red beans, but black beans, etc. It is a naturally occurring insecticide in the bean. If you use dried beans, you must not just plump them by soaking, but you must boil them for 10 minutes or so to kill off the naturally occurring element. This is why slow cooking beans causes the most problems as they do not boil.

Even Alton Brown didn't mention this during an episode about beans and the 1 time I received a response from the Food Network.

Why do I know this, because I prepared a black beans and quinoa dish one evening and exactly 3 hours later I was re-enacting a scene from "Something to Talk About" where Julia Roberts poisoned Dennis Quad. You won't die from it, but you sure wish you would. It hits you hard, but is over fast and takes only a bean or two to set this in motion.

I no longer keep dried beans and use canned beans, but I drain and wash them to remove the excess salt, etc.

Thanks for this and many great recipes and while I laugh about my bean experience, it isn't something you want to experience. I now tell my friends I have a recipe for "Revenge Chili". :-)

Sorry...I'm new to this cooking thing. Your recipes sound so good. Will chicken stock taste better or worse? Can you use red beans? What do you do with ham hock after cooking? Should you soak beans over night and then boil also? Thank you so much for helping a beginner.

No problem at all Richard! That's one of the reasons I started blogging my recipes to begin with - to help others learn to cook!! Chicken stock/broth adds another layer of flavor - water is more common and is actually good, but it's used because of economics really. If you are referring to the small red beans, they are different from the kidney beans we typically use in our red beans & rice dishes here in the Deep South. You can use them, but the flavor is completely different as those are much closer to pinto beans than kidney beans in both texture and flavor. If the ham hock that you use is good and meaty (those are the best kind) then pick any meat off of it and add back to the beans. Often it's already fallen off for you though. Once the hock is picked over, you just discard it. Soak overnight or do the quick boil with dried beans - I usually forget to soak so I almost always do the quick boil and since we're using the slow cooker with the recipe, I recommend doing the boil method.

Hi Shana! If you couldn't find any smoked ham hocks, look around in that same general area where the smoked hams are for other smoked meats like tasso or cubed smoked ham for seasoning. You can use smoked turkey wings but they do flavor a bit differently. I like to use a ham bone and if you don't have one in the freezer, you can buy them if you have a local ham store (like Honey Hams, etc.). They sell them by the pound though they are often pretty big - but very meaty! Just ask them for a smaller one because they'll otherwise sell you one of the big boys.

Normally, Im not a big fan of adding another electric kitchen gadget, unless it really has something going for it, like get rid of two & replace it with one. So when I discovered a rice cooker/slow cooker/ food steamer/ yogurt maker having a 4 quart capacity, that got my attention. I had occasion to try this fancy "rice cooker" while staying at a time share last year. I dumped in a box of Zataran's dirty rice + another box of red beans & rice, a can of black beans, 2 lbs of (browned) ground antelope, onion, bell pepper, garlic &water, closed the lid & let it do it's thing. It doesn't get much easier than that. And it came out great. When we got home, I started looking for this thing. Finally found it on sale at Costco & snatched it up. It's called a Time Machine by 3 Squares.

I have one of those rice cookers that is multi-function but it's not quite that large. Slow cookers are nice to have when you're feeding a family like many of the readers here who actually have several of them. I like the dirty rice/red beans combo - I happen to enjoy Zatarain's occasionally myself and will have to give that a try with ground beef. Not a lot of antelope available in the Deep South but your recipe sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing James!

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